Melina Herselia
Melina Herselia (メリーナヘルシリア, Herushiria Merīna) is a Fraccion of the Espada Afilado, serving under Tierra Doncella. Appearance Melina has a relatively young appearance, giving the visual impression of a young teen more than anything. She has black, shoulder-length hair that is tied back in a short ponytail. She also has brown eyes. Her outfit consists of the stereotypical Espada uniform; a white jacket and hakama, along with a black sash around the waist in which her Zanpakutō is secured. Physically, she is quite slender and slim, her actual weight matching up to her visual weight. In the human world, she is used to wearing various common attire. Personality Mannerisms & Habits Melina, in general, behaves in a carefree, upbeat and childlike manner in contrast to her more serious superior. Highly quirky and outgoing, she serves as a sort of light in comparison to the more jaded members of the Espada Afilado. In addition, she is rather informal with her superiors and can casually converse with them as if they were personal friends of hers (much to the chagrin of her colleagues). Her lighthearted attitude is commonly carried with her even in the midst of conflict, while she is exchanging blows with opponents. In the latter of scenarios, however, this can be mixed in with a somewhat sadistic attitude. She takes delight in wounding and inflicting pain on her targets - something which is emphasized by her occasionally licking blood off of her blade whenever she scores a hit. Flaws & Issues Although it can make her unpredictable in the face of her enemies, Melina's childish and innocent attitude can make allies question her competence. Her willingness to jump into a fight regardless of her opponent's strength can be considered an action stemming from foolish confidence rather than anticipation of the battle.El Sagrado Cruzada, The Queen Returns! In addition, she relies on instinct and reflex when she fights rather than tact and strategy, which can leave her open as much as it can take her enemies by surprise. Although she does occasionally show intellect and perception, it is a rarity for her to do this when she is actually engaging an enemy due to her heavy concentration into the actual fighting. Beliefs & Philosophies Melina is a firm supporter of strong resolve even through the hardest of times. She will (lightly) berate people who show emotional weakness, particularly in the face of the enemy. In contrast, she will praise those who have strong conviction even in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.El Sagrado Cruzada, The Queen Returns! She zealously refers to conflict as a "game" to be won or lost, much to the chagrin of others - something that might have been brought on due to her days as a Adjuchas. History In Progress... Synopsis Team Ningensei Saga *Grimmjow vs Nnoitra: Venganza del Rey *The Demon and the Shark: Nnoitra Jiruga vs Tia Harribel *Discipline To The Kindred Soul: Melina Herselia vs. Isabella Peleira *Brothers and Sisters of the Sword: Team Ningensei vs. Team Zealot The Hell Tournament Saga *Brothers and Sisters of the Sword: Team Ningensei vs. Team Zealot Post-Tournament Arc *The Ones Who Were Left Behind: Fracción and Números *Stuck Betwixt The Trials of Mortals *Born As One and Cruel Seperations *Sweet Nostalgia *The Conscentious Objector Children of Izanami Arc *Los Niños de Izanami: Territorio del Gato Powers & Abilities Immense Spiritual Power: As a Vastro Lorde-class Arrancar, Melina possesses tremendous spiritual power. Its density and potent effect it has on the air will cause those below Captain-level Shinigami to have negative symptoms, from loss of breath, to being crushed if too much force is exerted on them. The aura's color of her spiritual energy is a dark purple when released, and the pillar is enough to scrape the sky. Master Swordsmanship Specialist: Melina's swordsmanship skills allow her to fight on par against a Shinigami opponent's Bankai with her own Zanpakutō still sealed. She can react reflexively and naturally to attacks, fighting with one hand in order to promote accuracy and speed rather than outright brute strength.Discipline To The Kindred Soul: Melina Herselia vs. Isabella Peleira She can hold her own against three opponents simultaneously, considering that only one of them is of Captain-level. Her fighting style involves wearing down the enemy's stamina via defense, counter-attacks, and parrying before she herself swoops in for possibly lethal blows of her own. Sonído Master: Melina possesses extreme skill in the use of Sonído to the point of holding her own against nearly any opponent that crosses her path. This speed allows her to avoid close-range killing blows, even when against a Captain-level opponents. When she is using it, she can also leave after-images behind her in order to confuse anyone sighting her out. Combined with her agility and swordsmanship skill, Melina can force an opponent completely on the defensive in a one-on-one duel and leave no room for counter-attack. She is capable of keeping up with Isabella Peleira, a proficient master of Sonído. Cero: They are high-powered energy blasts that can be fired from various body parts, such as mouth, tongue, hand or fingers. Only Gillians, Adjuchas, Arrancar, and the Vizard have so far been shown to use Cero attacks, and it appears that stronger entities can use it more efficiently. Melina's own Cero is colored purple, matching that of her own reiatsu. Its power matches that of Ulquiorra Cifer's Cero Oscuras, capable of shattering one's Zanpakuto and critically injuring them in one blast. The collateral damage can annihilate the upper structures of a city. Immense Strength: Melina, despite her slender build, has frightening and tremendous strength, commonly displayed by her ability to fight off Bankai users while still keeping herself from using Resurrección. Her cutting strength can leave deep wounds even in the strongest of opponents, as well as shatter other weapons with a single slice at full effort. Garganta: Garganta is how Arrancar move to and from Hueco Mundo. Melina has the ability to use the technique. It literally tears open the dimensional fabric separating the worlds, revealing a tunnel of whirling, torrential energy that must be focused and solidified to create a discernible pathway. Melina, as well as her teammates, have a more diverse effect of using it, being able to create a pathway that allows her to go to destinations other than the Soul Society and Hueco Mundo, particularly Hell where she and her teammates are scheduled to participate in the tournament. Genius Intellect: Despite her bubbly nature, Melina has shown to be perceptive, analyptical, and accurate in her statements. In Nnoitra's battle with Grimmjow, she discerned that they both were fighting evenly with one another, unable to tell which one was weaker.Grimmjow vs Nnoitra: Venganza del Rey Upon meeting Team Harbinger, she was immediately able to guess the ranks and power level of Starrk and Harribel without anyone having to tell her.The Demon and the Shark: Nnoitra Jiruga vs Tia Harribel Zanpakutō Niñez (幼少, Youshou; Spanish and Japanese for "Childhood"). Niñez resembles a rapier more than anything else, having three edge-connected circles at the base and a parallel bar of the blade as a guard. The blade is slender and slim, slightly thinner than that of a katana blade. Its very shape is the testament of Melina's strength and agility. *'Resurrección:' Its release command is "Play Nice" (仲良く遊ぶ, Nakayoku Asobu). At first, her spiritual energy exerts itself from her body in a wild manner, enveloping the surrounding area in its power. However, this is only brief and temporary before it calms itself down and disperses. It leaves behind several butterfly-like apparitions as an environmental backdrop. In this form, her hair grows longer, and her body gains a more mature appearance, growing in height. The Hollow hole and mask fragments on her left eye are revealed, the bandages removed. Her sword doubles and changes into two katana blades that are slightly shorter than her original blade. Her outfit gives her the appearance of a warrior, with two square armor plates on her waist, a golden vest around her chest similar to a shirt, golden shoulder platings, and fur-laced boots. She sports a brown skirt that reaches just above the knees. :Resurrección Special Ability: In this form, the typical ability she possesses is an increase of speed and strength, though the extent is unknown as of yet. She claims that her Resurrección power surpasses even Senkaku's own, based on the concept of Arrancars being more powerful the more human they look. Despite her original abilities enhanced to greater levels, her real ability is to make the concept of childhood games real, similar to Shunsui Kyōraku's own Shikai ability. She has several "games" that she uses in the battlefield against her opponent, though she herself as to play by her rules as well. Anyone within her spiritual boundaries is forced to play. Anyone who refuses will be subject to torturous pain in accordance to the game. :*'Enhanced Hierro:' Melina possesses extremely tough skin when in her released form. When in her "incomplete" state, she was able to withstand a Violentos Alcance Cero and still fight effectively.Discipline To The Kindred Soul: Melina Herselia vs. Isabella Peleira :*'Enhanced Cero:' Not only is Melina's Cero power drastically increased, but she is able to fire it with a swing of one of her swords. Its width depends on the with of the sword swing, and it can envelop multiple targets at one time. When Melina rotates with both blades facing in opposite directions, she can unleash a Cero in the shape of a tornado. The size depends on how much she puts into the attack, whether it be small as Shunsui Kyōraku's Bushōgoma, or massive and tall as an actual tornado. :*'Negación:' Melina is capable of creating Negación fields in the form of massive crescent shapes in order to form a near-perfect defense. She regularly uses this to defend herself from energy and projectile-based attacks. She creates them with the arc of her sword swing, similar to the way she performs a Cero. She can also launch these crescent-shaped fields as projectiles to keep some attacks away from her, but they are immediately destroyed along with the enemy's blast once this happens. :*'Rayuela' (石蹴り, Hopscotch): When walking, running, and/or utilizing a speed technique (Sonido, Shunpo, etc), both Melina and her opponent have to fix themselves with either one foot as a landing or two, depending on the number of times they come out of it. The pattern follows the complex version of English hopscotch. If she or the opponent fail to land on the correct number of feet, their heart immediately stops beating, and they soon die afterward. This is one of her abilities that require heavy memorization by herself and the opponent in order to ensure their survival. :*'Etiqueta' (タグ, Tag): When Melina cuts an opponent and has this ability activated, a 30-second time limit is initiated. In order to win, a person must be the last person to achieve a cut on their opponent. When the timer runs out, all pain and damage accumulated in the fight up to that point will be transferred to the loser. This ability requires quick thinking, speed, and reflexes in order to increase the chances of victory. If the opponent attempts to reverse the process, not only will the techniques used to do so be reversed, but once it is complete, their torso will immediately split open, and their organs will spill from their body. :*'Escondite' (かくれんぼ, Hide-and-Seek): Out of Melina and the opponent, one person will be selected to be the "seeker". The seeker has to close his/her eyes and count to 100, while the other person goes off to hide their presence. The seeker is not allowed to use any means to find the hider before they reach 100. If they do, their eyes will be slowly burned out of their skulls, and the majority of their spiritual energy will be stripped from their bodies. When the seeker finds the hider, they lift a finger to point at the person and say "Found you!" The hider is immediately forced down to the ground, immobilized and unable to move by any means. The seeker has a choice to release him, or deliver one blow that can either harm or kill the hider. In either choice, the seeker wins, but if the hider is spared, the game resets. This will repeat until Melina disables the ability herself. If one refuses to play, the nervous system will be overridden with pain - an expansion of the seeker's punishment. Eventually, the nerves of the victim will be burned out, and he/she will die. :*'Simón Dice' (サイモンさんが言いました, Simon Says): This ability influences sword combat between Melina and her opponent. For every 10 seconds that pass, Melina says a certain command that the opponent has to follow, beginning with the words "Simón Dice". If the opponent does not follow the command, damage is inflicted on them according to the way they were supposed to attack or defend. If Melina fails to state a command within 10 seconds, then damage will be inflicted on her according to the way her opponent was supposed to attack or defend, even if it is blocked. :*'Acorazado' (戦艦, Battleship): The butterflies that are in the area will immediately start to fly around in patterns, forming massive wide pillars of spiritual energy that act as cover for both opponents, as if in a shoot out. There are a total of 10 pillars, separated into five rows. Each pillar is see-able. Both Melina and her opponent have to hide behind a pillar. Each person has to take turns guessing which pillar that the opponent is hiding behind, then temporarily go out from their cover and make a slashing motion towards that pillar. If they get it incorrect, nothing will happen. However, if they get it correct, damage will be inflicted on the target depending on the strength and type of the slash. Five slashes will result in the death of the loser. If the opponent tries to cheat and bypass the pillars, their bones will immediately shatter into fragments, and they will be permanently immobilized. :*'Verdugo' (死刑執行人, Hangman): With this ability activated, Melina tips the opponent off with a statement, "I'm thinking of a word with..." and then states the number of letters in the word. The opponent has six guesses. For every wrong answer, pain will be inflicted on a certain body part; first the head, then the torso, then each of the arms and legs. This pain is incurable by any means. If the opponent is unable to guess on the sixth try, then the heart will stop beating, and the opponent will go into a comatose state. However, if they are able to guess correctly, they will be restored to full strength and energy level. If the opponent refuses to guess, then their windpipe will constrict in on itself, choking the opponent to death. :*'Intercambio Equivalente' (等価交換, Equivalent Exchange): This game represents the concept of being unable to recieve anything of great value without having to lose something of equal value. It is one of Melina's favorite abilities, being closer to the art of combat than anything. In the case of zanjutsu fighting, when one of the fighters is dealt a certain amount of damage with a cut, the one who assaulted them must suffer a cut of equal damage. Attempts to block this counter-attack are futile, as the first fighter will be cut even if it seemed like they blocked successfully. Once the first fighter makes his/her cut, it sets the damage that the second fighter is capable of doing. For example, if the first makes a minor cut, then the second can only hope to make a minor cut as well, regardless if the strike was aimed to cause grievous injuries. In order to maximize damage, the second fighter must risk his/her own body to control the amount of damamge sustained before striking. This game does not apply to instant-kill moves, as the second is unable to counter-attack when he/she is dead. In the case of other forces used against her (such as reiryoku, reason, etc), a sacrifice is taken from the opponent depending on what the effect of their attack was. If a Cero was used against Melina and she was cut in half, the opponent would suffer physical damage proportionate to the power put into the Cero. Against illusion-based abilities, the opponent will suffer the effects that Melina suffers as well. Trivia *Melina's relationship with Nnoitra Jiruga seems to closely resemble that between Coyote Starrk and Lillynette Gingerback, as well as the relationship between Zaraki Kenpachi and Yachiru Kusajishi. *Melina's name is actually a misspelled version of the actual spanish name Milena. *Melina's Zanpakutō abilities have been commonly referenced as "children games turned into nightmares". *Melina's Zanpakutō has been the most commented on out of my character articles. References Category:Female